Ebay is charging 50% final fees! How is that fair?

[denisemb2001]

I’ve read all the prior kumbaya responses justifying Ebay charging the final fee based on sale price plus shipping, but let’s just tell it like it is.  At first Ebay’s auto listing was putting things I list with a suggested starting auction of $.99.  Well after a couple of things sold at that amount I found myself in a negative position but wasn’t sure why.  I’m not a dealer, just an older person trying to sell off a few collectibles so I don’t have to throw them away or donate somewhere where they will be destroyed.  I raised all of my minimums to $5.00 and am still wondering why I end up with so little.  To charge a final value fee based on shipping is like usary and I do not know why there hasn’t been some sort of action or complaint.  I am buying the label from Ebay so it is not like I have hyper inflated the shipping cost in some sort of covert way.  And this **bleep** that it is to encourage people to offer free shipping doesn’t fly.  12% of the total is still 12% of the total whether it is inflated to hide the shipping cost or is the actual item price plus shipping.  I read lots of people defending Ebay because people were inflating shipping costs etc, but I have used Ebay for purchases for many years and never bought anything with high shipping - that’s on the seller to know what things cost to ship.  This is just a money grab from Ebay.  Tell it like it is - for small items, or heavy items YOU ARE CHARGING A 50%+ FINAL VALUE FEE.  Shame shame shame on Ebay.  I wasn’t selling here for some sort of get rich quick scheme.  I just thought I could recover some of the cost of the items I am selling - most of which were originally purchased on Ebay in the past - Well now they have definately double+ dipped into my pocket.

[monroe67]

"I guess you are just a better person than I am.   I am hobby selling and not looking for a big profit.  My point is that this is wrong  - shipping is a pass through- why would you want to pay an additional fee on it that cuts into your profit?  Again everyone is just justifying it like it’s a good thing. That makes no sense to me but you go do you and pay foolish fees!"

The responses you have received have been factual, based on eBay's User Agreement.  They are not specifically defenses or justifications of eBay's policies and procedures.  Successful sellers on eBay or Etsy or Poshmark or even at your local weekend swap meets have taken the time to read and learn the policies of those websites (or physical sites) and they accept those policies.  Successful sellers work within the policies of the selling site.  

I think some part of the history of eBay's Final Value Fees (FVFs) may have been mentioned in previous responses.  Back in the very early days of eBay, the final value fees charged by eBay were a percentage of only the item price.  Another aspect of listing and trying to sell has not changed since those early eBay days:  sellers may set the price AND the shipping cost on each individual listing. 

Some eBay sellers way back in those early days read eBay's policy on fees (a percentage of only  the item's price) and saw a massive loophole.  Some of those sellers took the mindset of "Why would I want to pay an additional fee that cuts into my profit?" to an extreme.  Some of those sellers decided to take advantage of that massive loophole in eBay's policy and list, for example, a relatively lightweight golden chain necklace that had been purchased from a well known high-end American jewelry retailer, with a gold pendant set with pearls and/or rubies and/or emeralds, packaged into a 4"x4"x2" box, again, relatively small, for $10.00, and a shipping cost of $750.00.  

The Powers at eBay finally caught on that they were being cheated by those unethical sellers.  They did investigate cases of fee avoidance, but too many dishonest, unethical sellers continued their shady practice.  eBay found themselves essentially forced to change their policy on how the final value fees were calculated:  eBay began to add the item price with the shipping cost, and then take a percentage of that total amount.  (I think this started in 2011?)  

"My point is that this is wrong - shipping is a pass through . . . .   Again everyone is just justifying it like it's a good thing."  

Well, I do think it's a very good thing for eBay to have evened the playing field on their FVFs.  Those unethical sellers who were cheating eBay out of its fees have had that loophole closed up tight around their money-grubbing wrists.  Those sellers can no longer gain an exorbitant profit by under-pricing the item and massively over-pricing the shipping cost. 

I'm done with the history lesson.  I've also, long ago, stopped trying to persuade others to think the same way I do, whether something is "right" or "wrong", on a lot of subjects.  I'm a person who likes to know the laws and rules and policies so that I can  work within them.  I can only suggest that people who choose not to work within the policies of any organization or activity are not required to continue in that organization or activity.  

[fern*wood]

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@likori0 wrote:

So if I enter a handling fee amount in the box when initially listing an item, do you know why it does not not show up on the packing slip so I get paid the handling fee amount?

Thank you!

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Any handling fee you enter on your listing is added to the postage cost charged to your buyer and shown as one amount in your details.  So you get it paid to you along with the charged postage.  Most sellers wouldn't want a separate fee to show up anywhere.

[mam98031]

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@likori0 wrote:

So if I enter a handling fee amount in the box when initially listing an item, do you know why it does not not show up on the packing slip so I get paid the handling fee amount?

Thank you!

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It doesn't show to the public as a separate cost to the buyer, it is included in the price of the shipping you charge on the listing.  Ebay adds the shipping rate plus the handling fee you put in the shipping calculator together to arrive at the shipping charge you will be charging your buyer.

@likori0 

[mam98031]

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@broto_64 wrote:

The advantage for free shipping from a buyer's perspective is they can see the total price upfront, all too often with calculated shipping the buyer only sees the price of the item on the results page (especially if they're searching from google).

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Most buyers are a bit more savvy than that.  Many buyers have started to move away from preferring Free Shipping, especially buyers that typically purchase multiple items from the same seller as they can't get a shipping discount, but the seller makes bank.

[mam98031]

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@5594shelleys wrote:

Usury. No matter how one spells it. Yes, indeed. Usury.

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13.25% is usury????  Have you compared this to other similar sites?  How much do you think it would cost you to set up your own site and maintain it?  Don't forget you would have to pay for advertising to drive traffic to your site.

You feel it is usury yet you are a current seller??

[enchantedlan_91]

I think you misunderstand.  What the complaint is that Ebay is charging the 13.25% (reasonable) on the cost of the item sold AND the shipping and tax of that item.  So, for example:

I sell an item for $10.00

Shipping is $14.95

tax is 1.80  

TOTAL: 26.75 - 13.25%= (3.55 fee)

Then I pay shipping:  26.75-14.95= 11.80 - 1.80 (tax)-.30(insertion fee)=$9.70-3.55(fee)= $6.15 (what I get)

This is nearly 40% of my earnings.  We can't charge for the box we mailed it in because that would also be included in the 13.25% fee.  That is a lot.     

What hurts more is when the item sells for under 10.00 and the shipping is $15.  Sometimes you end up with $1.00-$2.00.  You are charged a higher fee if the person you sell to is further away because the shipping is more.  I have actually gotten nothing for all my effort.

Those of us who are selling for under $5000 a year are literally making it $5.00 at a time and we pray that our buyer is close so that the shipping costs are less so we are assessed less.  Some things are out of our control, like buyer location.  And YES we are buying the freaking postage from EBAY so they know what we spend.  And we are FORCED to buy our shipping from EBAY if we sell on ebay.  What a scam.  

I'll pay a legit fee for listing here, but to  have shipping costs included in the end of sale fee is really just greed.  Not all sellers are the same, mam98031.  Maybe this works for you, but some of us are sad that our little side business has become so costly that it is no longer worth our time. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@enchantedlan_91 wrote: ... we pray that our buyer is close so that the shipping costs are less so we are assessed less.  Some things are out of our control, like buyer location.  And YES we are buying the freaking postage from EBAY so they know what we spend.  And we are FORCED to buy our shipping from EBAY if we sell on ebay.  What a scam.  .... 

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But what IS under your control is the selection of items that you sell, based on both their potential selling price and the range of their shipping cost. Many sellers have already realized that it's just not worthwhile to sell low-value items that have high shipping costs.

I don't understand why you think you have to purchase postage through eBay or why you think it's a scam.  eBay charges an excellent discounted online rate for postage (except for Media Mail, which cost the same as it would at the Post Office).

[enchantedlan_91]

I sell breakables.  They are never under $10.00 to ship.  That's $10 added to the sale price that is assessed the 13.25% fee.  I love the idea that I should sell things that are lightweight to minimize shipping costs, but I sell what I know and that's dishes.  At the end of the day, EBAY gets about 40%+ of my final sale price. So, instead of making $8.00 of my $10, I get about $6.00.  I buy the boxes and the bubble wrap.  So, I make nearly nothing.  Shipping should NOT be included in the 13.25% fee.  Only the sale price and the tax.  That would be fair.  No one charges a fee on shipping costs to my knowledge, not when I can get the same shipping at another website and not pay the 13.25% extra.  But Ebay doesn't allow that.  I feel my complaint is legitimate.  I also went to college, got a degree and worked in academics for almost 20 years.  If it even matters. 

[enchantedlan_91]

Etsy does not and that is because Etsy knows that without its sellers, it will not survive.  They do take a big cut, however.  Some of their policies are infuriating, but they actually feel justified.  I'm just baffled at why ebay charges the seller a fee on the cost of shipping and makes you buy the label from them.  There is something fishy about that.  Crunch the numbers however you want, I know what I make at the end of a transaction and it's not close to what I need to make it worth my while.  Sellers like me are SOL, I guess. 

[enchantedlan_91]

Thanks denisemb2001.  I think you get it.  😞

[enchantedlan_91]

Now I understand why everyone I know shops on Facebook marketplace.  No seller fees.   It's where the "little sellers" go to make a little cash.  Ebay is clearly geared toward those making bigger profits. So sad. 

[monica-sells]

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@enchantedlan_91 wrote:

Etsy does not and that is because Etsy knows that without its sellers, it will not survive.  They do take a big cut, however.  Some of their policies are infuriating, but they actually feel justified.  I'm just baffled at why ebay charges the seller a fee on the cost of shipping and makes you buy the label from them.  There is something fishy about that.  Crunch the numbers however you want, I know what I make at the end of a transaction and it's not close to what I need to make it worth my while.  Sellers like me are SOL, I guess. 

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Say what?

I'd be baffled if this were true, too.......

and who does not charge a fee on the shipping amount....curious minds want to know

[fern*wood]

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@enchantedlan_91 wrote:

...  I'm just baffled at why ebay charges the seller a fee on the cost of shipping and makes you buy the label from them.  There is something fishy about that.  Crunch the numbers however you want, I know what I make at the end of a transaction and it's not close to what I need to make it worth my while.  Sellers like me are SOL, I guess. 

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I'm baffled about why you keep stating ebay makes you buy the label from them.  You can buy your label anywhere you choose, you just need to enter the tracking number on the listing if it doesn't auto-populate.  You also can add a handling fee in your shipping section to cover boxes and the extra materials needed to ship dishes.   As an academic, you can easily crunch the numbers to see whether an item is worth selling or not.   Many are not.  I've stopped sourcing many items I used to sell.

[redlinear]

Because eBay knows that your $100 thing isn't worth $50 locally.

[mam98031]

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@enchantedlan_91 wrote:

I think you misunderstand.  What the complaint is that Ebay is charging the 13.25% (reasonable) on the cost of the item sold AND the shipping and tax of that item.  So, for example:

I sell an item for $10.00

Shipping is $14.95

tax is 1.80  

TOTAL: 26.75 - 13.25%= (3.55 fee)

Then I pay shipping:  26.75-14.95= 11.80 - 1.80 (tax)-.30(insertion fee)=$9.70-3.55(fee)= $6.15 (what I get)

This is nearly 40% of my earnings.  We can't charge for the box we mailed it in because that would also be included in the 13.25% fee.  That is a lot.     

What hurts more is when the item sells for under 10.00 and the shipping is $15.  Sometimes you end up with $1.00-$2.00.  You are charged a higher fee if the person you sell to is further away because the shipping is more.  I have actually gotten nothing for all my effort.

Those of us who are selling for under $5000 a year are literally making it $5.00 at a time and we pray that our buyer is close so that the shipping costs are less so we are assessed less.  Some things are out of our control, like buyer location.  And YES we are buying the freaking postage from EBAY so they know what we spend.  And we are FORCED to buy our shipping from EBAY if we sell on ebay.  What a scam.  

I'll pay a legit fee for listing here, but to  have shipping costs included in the end of sale fee is really just greed.  Not all sellers are the same, mam98031.  Maybe this works for you, but some of us are sad that our little side business has become so costly that it is no longer worth our time. 

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@enchantedlan_91 

I understand the process, I've been an active seller for many years.  It is always in the sellers best interest to understand how Ebay fees are charged and how much they are.

However there is a DIFFERENCE between Ebay Fees and other costs of selling an item, like shipping.  Shipping costs are NOT an Ebay fee, it is a cost of sale aka COGS [cost of goods sold].  Sometimes some sellers get these thing mixed up and say things like Ebay charges them a 50% final value fee, which is totally untrue.

The pricing of items is completely up to the seller.  It is enormously helpful for the seller to understand the fee structure on Ebay and know what their shipping costs will likely be BEFORE they price an item.  Without a good understanding of how this works, it is very difficult for a seller to be accurate and therefore may not get the profit they had hoped for on the items they sell.

If you are having problems with figuring out what shipping should be for a given item, they use Calculated Shipping and that will resolve that issue for you as long as you enter the information on the item accurately into the program.  Size and weight.

I do stated shipping on the vast majority of my listings and I rarely lose money on the shipping.  I don't make money either, but then I shouldn't on shipping IMHO.  

Not a single seller is "FORCED" to buy shipping from Ebay.  You can buy your shipping wherever you'd like, just remember to then come back and enter your tracking number into the Ebay transaction.

You shouldn't be paying any listing fees.  There are plenty of ways to get free listing fees.  As a seller without a store, you have 250 free listings per month.  So if you are paying listings fees, it must be for listing upgrades or something other than the actual listing fee.

You can't point to any post I've ever made that says that all sellers are the same as me.  I did not say that, EVER.  You have some misunderstandings and you want to throw those at me as if I did something wrong or gave bad advice.  Sometimes we just need to slow down, take a breath and look at the world around us a bit more clearly and understand we may not know everything that there is to know about selling here, especially when you are relatively new at it.  Being new is NOT a bad thing. 

Selling here is a huge learning curve.  Most posters volunteer their time on these threads in an effort to HELP others.  That is the basis that most of us operate from.  It is good to keep that in mind too.